The magical art of Shruti Nelson

Baroda artist Shruti Nelson paints a lot of of fascinating and unexpected objects in her work: cars, scooters, motorcycles, animals, women, castles. What make her paintings magical is how she unites these objects in an almost supernal way. Her paintings can be gossamer delicate, yet strong, layered, complex and dazzling.



Shruti's been painting a lot lately. She's collected all of her recent works and will have them on display at the Hacienda Gallery, Kalaghoda on January 24th.

Her paintings seem to have such a diverse gathering of influences that I decided to try and find out more about what inspires her and how it comes together in her work.

Shruti is a terrific person to converse with. She's down to earth, warm, overflowing with thoughts and ideas, and full of positive energy. I had this conversation with her sitting in her studio in Baroda and sorrounded by her stunning paintings.

The full interview is on Line of Sight

New maal on Times of India

Contrary to the generally held opinion that I've lost my off-the-wall sense of humor, I very much have it. Its the wall that's missing. That was a joke. Hmm, maybe I have lost it.

Links to some of my posts on my Times of India blog Line of Sight.

Interviews

• The weirdly wonderful art of Haren Vakil
  Haren chats about how those unique #QuirkyNativeAmusingCuriousCurveball paintings come together.
  
• Inside the background score of Guzaarish
  One of the most highly awaited movies of the year (alas, it flopped) was scored by Parik and Tubby. I've been trying to get Parik to do an interview for years. I finally did and learned much about background music.
• Inside the music of Break Ke Baad
  Vishal-Shekhar hired Mikey McCleary to produce their CD for the Imran-Deepika starrer. Mikey changed their sound by giving the songs an exuberant pop feel.
• Vishal Dadlani talks about Anjaani Anjaana
  The songs for this movie ranks among Vishal-Shekhar's finest work. Vishal dissects each song and also talks about how he's tired of hearing his own (very popular) voice.
• Antara Mitra's journey from Indian Idol to Rajneeti
  Antara was a top 3 finalist on Indian Idol. She talks about how she ended up singing that killer song on Rajneeti.
• The unsettling art of Sonatina Mendes
  One of my favorite artists talks about her work
• Sania-Shoaib: Should they or shouldn't they?
  My favorite astrologist and numerologist is back! I interview Tigermaasi for her take on the controversial union.

Box Office Musings

• Why Hindi movies will get shorter: Part 1: Popcorn!, Part 2: Money! and Part 3: Length!
  Think: multiplex effect. I try to map some lessons learnt from multiplexery (yes, I made up that word) in the US to how it might change the market in India
• Indian Movie Promos: Its complicated!
  Bollywood runs on music. This complicates how you promote movies.
• How to enjoy Rajneeti for free!
  A number of themes run through Rajneeti. You can find all those themes available for your enjoyment for free! Unfortunately no one listened to me and went to see Ranbir and Katrina anyway.
• The biggest gainers and losers of 2010 at the box office
  A number of names had banner years at the cash registers. Others didn't. I list out the ones who did the best and got hammered the most.

Movies

• Rajni vs Rajni vs Rajni in Endhiran
  More spectacle than movie, Endhiran was dubious and entertaining
• Decoding the super hitness of Dabangg
  India's biggest hit in 2010 was loved by audiences. I try to understand why
• Eat Pray Snore
  Julia Roberts' big movie put me to sleep
• The drama behind the Girl with the Golden Tattoo
  Charting author Steig Larrson's stunning rise to top of the entertainment charts
• Sex and the City 2: The experience
  I watch history's biggest chick flick on opening day and survive

Music

• Music's biggest entertainers in 2010
  The usual year end look at who entertained us the most through the year
• The music of Aisha
  Amit Trivedi's first mainstream score was a delight. I discuss his music and his work on this particular CD.
• The music of Kajraare
  The composer everyone loves to hate is back! And on this CD, you can't get away from his voice.
• New Bollywood Music: Best of the rest Part 1and Part 2
  Songs that didn't get as much love as they should have
• The music of Rajneeti
  This CD has songs cobbled together from multiple composers. But the songs were terrific anyway!
• The evolution of Pritam
  Pritam is on his way to becoming a huge brand like RD Burman. This post traces his journey from start to current mega-composer status.

Weirdness

• Postergyaan series: Part 1 and 2
  Looking at the subtle messages coded into movie posters
• Trailernama: Kites
  I take a close, very close, look at the trailer of Kites
• Interpreting the dhaasu tweets of Salman Khan
  As entertaining as he is on TV, Salman sometimes outdoes himself when the format is informal. I take a look at his tweets and try to decipher what he is really trying to say

Graphic Novels

• Ramayana: The divine loophole
  Sanjay Patel works at Pixar. He brings his animation sensibilities to a timeless tale

Counselling

• Milenge Milenge: How to work again with your filmi ex
  Resident therapist Mind Rush discusses how Shahid and Kareena can continue to work together fruitfully